Billionaire technology executive Elon Musk cast the upcoming presidential election in somber terms during a Saturday appearance with Donald Trump, calling the Republican presidential candidate the only candidate “who can preserve democracy in America.”
Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla who also bought X, joined Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, where the former president survived an assassination attempt in July. He warned “this will be the last election” if Trump does not win and, wearing a black-on-black cap with Trump’s campaign’s “Make America Great Again” slogan, appeared to acknowledge the ominous nature of his comments.
“As you can see, I’m not just MAGA – I’m Dark MAGA,” he said.
The appearance marked the first time Musk took part in one of Trump’s signature rallies and represented the growing alliance between the two men in the latter part of a competitive presidential election. Musk created a super PAC to support the Republican candidate, who has invested heavily in getting out the vote in the final months of the campaign. Trump has said he would tap Musk to head a government efficiency commission if he regains the White House.
Trump joined Musk in August for a rare public conversation on X, an overwhelmingly friendly conversation that lasted more than two hours. In it, the former president focused largely on the July assassination attempt, illegal immigration and his plans to reduce government regulations.
In front of a huge crowd on Saturday, Musk tried to portray Trump as a champion of free speech, arguing that Democrats “want to take away your freedom of speech, they want to take away your right to bear arms, they want to take away your fight.” . to vote effectively.” Musk went on to criticize an effort in California to ban voter ID requirements.
Saturday’s rally took place on the same grounds where a gunman’s bullets grazed Trump’s right ear and killed his supporter, Corey Comperatore. The shooting injured several others.
Several members of Comperatore’s family, as well as other attendees and first responders from the July gathering, returned to the site Saturday. Also joining the former president were his running mate, Ohio Republican Sen. JD Vance, son Eric Trump, daughter-in-law and RNC co-chair Lara Trump, along with Pennsylvania lawmakers and sheriffs.
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Kinnard reported from Chapin, South Carolina, and can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP.
